Page 11 of Protecting Silver
“Is it the man that helped Grady with the man who injured his shoulder?”
“It is.”
“Is he reporting to you, or me?”
“Me.”
“You’ll keep me posted?”
“I will.”
“All right then. I’ll go back to the scene and see what my people have found. Please, keep me informed if you learn anything new.” Amos turned to leave, then turned back. “You going to tell anyone else about what you learned?”
“I’ll probably read Finn in. It’s always good to have more backup.”
“I agree,” Amos said, and strolled from the room, leaving Patch with his own thoughts.
Chapter 6
Eddie Freedman lookedover at the woman reading the morning newspaper on her tablet, and it took everything in him not to reach out and slap her out of her chair. She seemed more intent with what she was reading, than on him. He rubbed his hands on his thighs, then had to fist them several times, making sure his nails dug into his palms, to keep him grounded, so he didn’t punch her across the room. Some would say not having all of her attention on him wasn’t a hitting offense, but he’d beg to differ. When he was with a woman, he expected her to have all her focus on him. Nothing else. Maybe with time, he’d train this one right, and finally be able to get a woman to dote on him hand and foot. Life was so much easier fifty to sixty years ago when a woman knew her place, which in Eddie’s mind was cooking, cleaning, and to wait on her man hand and foot, to anticipate his every need, before he even knew what he wanted.
“What’s got you so interested on the tablet, Anita?” Eddie asked as he rose to get his own coffee. When Anita held her cup out to him, it took all of his willpower not to pour the hot liquid over her head, but he knew he had to bide his time. His last girlfriend was barely out of the hospital, and if everything had gone as planned, another previous girlfriend would be found right about now, and he’d sadly mourn her death.
“You know I like to get the paper from all the places we visit. Since I’ve been dating you these last few months, we’ve gone to some interesting places for a day or two. It’s fascinating to learn about the places we’ve only visited for a few hours, or a day or two. Right now, I’m reading about a woman that was found in a dumpster outside that nightclub we visited last week.”
Eddie jerked at the news, and swore when the hot coffee landed on his hand. After running it under cold water, he was able to get himself under control. This was the only time he was grateful that Anita was distracted. He wouldn’t be able to explain his reaction to what she’d said.
“That’s sounds awful. Is she dead?”
“No, it says here that her friends found her, and called the police.”
Eddie ground his back molars, and knew that he’d fucked up somehow, but he’d wait until he got to the office, before he reviewed every step he’d taken. “What else does the article say?” He had to know what was going on.
“It says that the police are asking anyone that was there that night to contact them.” She finally looked up at him, and then her eyes went suddenly wide. “Oh, my god, we were there that night. We should call this number and tell them what we saw.”
“And what did we see, Anita? I remember that it was so crowded that we could barely move. It was six deep to get to the bar, and we were only there for two days, and only at that club for four or five hours. We wouldn’t even recognize the woman, let alone remember if we saw her. Besides, that was in Montana, and we’re back in Chicago now. Do you really want to put the police there through all the paperwork, and hassle of you not knowing anything?”
“I guess you’re right,” Anita sighed, and slumped back in her chair. Another pet peeves of Eddie’s. A woman should have straight posture at all times, and only cross her legs at the ankle, not the knees. That was so unsophisticated. After sipping her coffee, she held out her tablet, and asked if he wanted to read the article.
“I have to get to work, but why don’t you send me the link, and when I get a chance I’ll look at it.”
“Okay,” she smiled, then looked over at him. “Done. And you’re right, I don’t remember seeing anyone hassle a woman.”
“Yeah, and who’s to say that she was actually at the club. It’s probably some whore who took a john in the alley, and when she didn’t do what he wanted, he beat her, and threw her away like the trash she is. You know how those prostitutes and whores are.”
“You’re probably right.” Anita sighed, then rose, and rinsed her cup, placing it back in the sink.
Unable to stand it any longer, Eddie glared at her, and demanded, “Is that how you leave a cup inmyhouse?”
“Oops, sorry. Aren’t we lucky we’re at my place, then?” She laughed as she ignored the cup, and headed down the hall toward her bedroom, calling over her shoulder, “Sorry, but I was thinking about that poor woman being beaten and left for dead. I hope they find the guy and fry his ass to the wall.” Later, Eddie would deny that he had pre-planned his next action. He reached into the sink, picked up the offending cup, brought his arm back, and put all his anger and frustration into that motion. When the cup slammed into the back of Anita’s head, and she cried out as her face hit the floor, he still didn’t realized what he’d done.
Once Anita landed on the floor, Eddie rushed forward, grabbed the hair on the back of her head, and slammed her face back into the floor. He grinned at the satisfying crunch. For the next three minutes he used his fists to beat, not only her head, but also her back, legs, arms, and torso. The entire time he was yelling at her, “This is your doing, not mine. If you would have followed the rules of the house, I wouldn’t have had to beat you. You need to learn a lesson. When I tell you something, you do it without asking questions. Now you’ve made me late for work. When you come to, clean up this mess, or you won’t like, or maybe even survive the consequences if you defy me on this.” Eddie stood above Anita’s prone body, adjusted the cuffs on his jacket, then frowned at the bloodstain he saw on the wrists of his white shirt. He stormed into the bedroom, changed his shirt, then came back and paused only long enough to kick her one last time, and say, “Just remember, Anita Green, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. You might end up worse than Silver Roundtree if you don’t watch yourself in the near future.”
* * *
Silver lay perfectly still,feigning sleep as she listened to her surroundings. From the sound of the beeping, and the smell of bleach and disinfectant, she assumed she was in a hospital. That meant that someone had found her after Eddie had tossed her in that dumpster like trash. She wondered how long she’d lain there before being found. She would never forgive him for that. If it was the last thing she ever did, she would hunt him down and hurt him. Or, if someone in law enforcement got to him first, she’d make sure she had a front-row seat at his trial. There was no way she would back down in pressing charges against him. The time to hide behind his own badge was over. With that resolve deep in her belly, she slowly opened her eyes, and winced at the pain from the brightness. She heard them close, then she opened them again, and saw a dark shadow standing there. Before she could scream, the shadow stepped forward, and she instantly recognized the man. It was Patch, and she’d been crushing on him for months.What a way to make an impression, Silver”She thought to herself.
When Silver went to speak, Patch shook his head. “No, don’t try to speak. Your jaw was broken, and it’s wired shut. I’ll tell you what’s been happening to you, do you want me to?” Patch looked at Silver, and smiled when she nodded her head, but he first held a cup with a straw to her lips, and nodded in satisfaction when she sipped greedily. “Okay, first, you’ve been in here for two weeks. We’ve been keeping you sedated as much as possible, to allow your body to heal. I don’t have to tell you that you were beaten.”
